Souwer Triumphs at Shootboxing

TOKYO, Oct. 28 -- The giants of sumo were replaced by fists and
feet on Sunday as Japan's Shootboxing promotion held its biggest
show of the year at Tokyo's famous sumo hall, Ryogoku
Kokugikan.

Somewhat different than K-1 style kickboxing, Shootboxing allows
clinch work and standing submissions. Fighters are also awarded
points for clean trips, throws and takedowns.

The main event pitted Dutch ace Andy Souwer(Pictures) against Nigerian fighter Andy
Ologon. Souwer was coming off his recent victory at the K-1 MAX
finals, where he went through Drago, Albert Kraus and Masato to
claim the title.

Outside of getting knocked down in the first round, Souwer was
basically in control throughout the bout. Traditionally a slow
starter, he covered up for the opening moments of the fight but
eventually began to chop away at his opponent's legs.

By the second round, Souwer was pushing Ologon into the corners,
unleashing vicious combinations to the head and body. The Dutch
fighter also scored several takedowns, and by the third round
Ologon's legs began to fail from the damage they had received.

The last 10 seconds saw Souwer pounding away as Ologon covered to
avoid the punches. The fight went to the judges, and Souwer walked
away with the unanimous victory.

Kenichi Ogata, 2006 S-Cup
Champion, was supposed to square off against K-1 MAX veteran Albert
Krauss, who broke his hand in training and was forced off the card.
Instead, Shootboxing brought in Brian Lo-A-Njoe(Pictures) to take Krauss' place.

Ogata did a great job in the first round, tagging Lo-A-Njoe with
punches and connecting with quick low kicks. But the wheels came
off for the Japanese fighter in the second, when Lo-A-Njoe caught
him with a big series of knees that sent him to the mat early.
Ogata beat the count, but Lo-A-Njoe could sense that the end was
near.

The Dutch fighter came rushing in with punches off the restart,
catching Ogata with a big hook that dropped him to the mat for
good. With this big upset win, Lo-A-Njoe's stock will no doubt rise
in the division.

In a bout that looked like a Shooto matchup, Shooto Europe champion
Jani Lax(Pictures) took on former Shooto champion
Hayato "Mach" Sakurai. This was Sakurai's first bout since the
death of PRIDE earlier this year.

Then in the second round, the PRIDE veteran caught Lax with a left
hand that sent him down for a five count. Sakurai kept up the
pressure in the third, landing kicks and punches en route to a
unanimous decision.

Big Ben looked relaxed throughout this one, almost as if he were
sparring instead of fighting. Shishido couldn't really get anything
going against him in the first round, but he managed to hit his
targets in the second, connecting with some well-timed punches that
sent the Thai champion's head rocking back.

Shishido turned it up in the third round, especially in the last 30
seconds, pushing forward with punch combinations. This was a very
close fight, and a strong case could be made for a draw. However,
when the decision was rendered, Shishido walked away with the
victory, 30-29 three times.

Just a few seconds into the match, Yvel got a knockdown. Aside from
a one-two punch combination that caught Yvel on the chin, Sakuragi
just could not mount much offense, as he was overwhelmed by the
Dutchman's power.

Yvel soon followed up with two more knockdowns, forcing a referee
stoppage at the 1:48 mark of the first round.

DEEP lightweight champion Kazunori Yokota(Pictures) focused on takedowns in his match
against Team Souwer product Fadil Chahbari. Early he executed an
MMA-style shooting takedown and then continued to score judo hip
tosses throughout.

Chahbari scored some knees in the clinch, but he really couldn't
hurt the wily MMA veteran. The bout went to the judges, and Yokota
took the unanimous decision.

Team Souwer fighter Marco Pique controlled his bout against Takashi
Ono. The Dutch fighter pushed forward, grabbing his opponent's
kicks and landing vicious leg kicks of his own. Pique was
aggressive until the end, when he landed a big left hand in the
last 10 seconds of the fight that punctuated a unanimous decision
in his favor.

AACC fighter Hiroyuki Abe
used the same bizarre strategy against Shootboxing super flyweight
champion Tomohiro Oikawa that he had used in his recent DEEP bout
against Masakazu
Imanari(Pictures).

He kept his feet planted and his hands low, and just like before,
it didn't work. Oikawa pounded the tough MMA fighter's legs and
opened up with combinations in the corners.

By the third round it was obvious that Abe's legs were giving up on
him. Oikawa finished him off with a well-placed low kick that sent
Abe to the mat for good at 1:40.

In other action, Takeshi Ishikawa won a unanimous decision over
Takahiro Murahama.